Video game characters pile on the pounds for Thanksgiving weekend

Naughty Dog, developers of the super-successful Uncharted series on PlayStation 3, have announced that for this weekend only two of the main characters from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be super-sized for online multiplayer games, after "a few too many helpings" during the American feast of Thanksgiving.

Character models for the lean, athletic bounder Nathan Drake and his bounty-hunting nemesis Zoran Lazarevic have been inflated to reflect a substantial increase in girth, though it's not thought that their additional mass will have an impact on their in-game speed and agility - preview screenshots show a gargantuan Zoran leaping through the air like an overweight evil superman.

As well as a battle of the heavyweights, Naughty Dog will also be releasing an extra multiplayer arena for free. The Fort map is based on an episode from the previous game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune that would lend itself well to online play, with underground and overground areas in a ruined fortress from 15th-16th century South America.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves picked up multiple awards at this summer's Electronic Entertainment Expo and is expected to do the same in 2009's end-of-year recaps, as a glut of extremely positive reviews was accompanied by a great reception at retail, with an estimated 1 million retail copies shifted since its release in early October.